Guatemalan villagers form vigilante group against Salvatrucha gang

An armed villager guards the entrance to the village of Castanas, on the outskirts of Guatemala City, on July 19. The villagers formed an armed group to defend themselves in response to an extortion threat last Friday by the Mara Salvatrucha criminal gang, according to the leader of the armed villagers. There was no official comment from the local authorities.

Johan Ordonez / AFP - Getty Images

Hooded men look for members of the Salvatrucha gang on board a bus in Castanas, a neighborhood on the southern outskirts of Guatemala City, on July 19.

Johan Ordonez / AFP - Getty Images

Hooded men interrogate a man, suspected to belong to the Salvatrucha gang, in Castanas on July 19.

Johan Ordonez / AFP - Getty Images

Hooded men stand guard at the entrance to the Castanas neighborhood on July 19.